Twins
by Sorida
Summary: Prime 9/11 fic. Optimus Prime and Bumblebee discuss Cybertron's past and that fateful day in human history that happened 10 years ago. In honor of 9/11; ten years have gone by so fast, but it's memory will remain in our hearts.


_A/N: It's that time again Americans: 9/11. A time for remembrance and tears, for realizing what we lost and what we found, an event so traumatizing, it brought an entire nation together in the span of less than three hours. For those of you too young to remember, let us do it for you. Let your fellow citizens teach you of this atrocity and let us never forget it as a nation, for it is actions such as this that keep us unified in mind, body, and spirit. On that tragic day ten years ago, our parents and adult figures were scrambling about, trying to get in touch with loved ones while thinking "What the hell is happening here?" The teens watched the reports in school, crammed into auditoriums, classrooms, or anywhere with a TV or radio trying to grasp onto the reality of the events taking place. The middle school students gained a semblance of what was happening and understood it to the best of their knowledge. The toddlers hadn't the mental capacity to know or remember; perhaps all they retain of the event is a frantic parent. But right now, let's focus on the age group that was stuck in the middle: the younglings. While I am borrowing Transformers terminology, it's the only phrase that suits this particular generation. You see, this generation contains the elementary school children, roughly 1__st__-4__th__ grade. While I realize every district has their own grading system, this age group should cover the majority of us on this website. I am 16 and I was 6 when the planes crashed and the towers fell. My teacher talked to the class, knowing most of us probably wouldn't understand the severity and complexity of the issue. Now, you may be reading this and think "But you did understand, didn't you?" or you could be thinking the exact opposite and be calling me a moron. Well, the latter of you are correct; I had no hope of ever understanding it. All I knew was that two jets crashed, two towers fell, the Red Cross was working it's ass off on red alert, and a bit of fear for the office tower my mom was working in one mile out of town, yet hundreds of miles away from New York City. So, let's focus on this generation, the ones too young to understand, yet have the ability to remember. For the most part, we don't know what we're remembering, but we do it, not because we can, but because we must. I think that can be said for all Americans when commemorating this day. I'm sorry this is so long, but I feel obliged to get it out there. For the ones under 15 and generations not yet born: remember this day, learn of this day, feel the pain this day brought; be our memories when our time comes to move on, for when we are gone, who will be there to remember for us? The answer is you. Never let yourself forget it. Now I bid you goodnight and let your grief flow back down the river. We still have a tomorrow, so let's not waste it for the ones who never saw the sunrise of September 12, 2001. This is in memory of all the people who lost their lives ten years ago and the generation that lost a family member. Remember, you are not alone, for all of America is right there behind you, all you have to do is look back every once in a while. Then, you start to notice the red and blue truck and the custom yellow muscle car. I'll admit; this is definitely not my best work, but its purpose is clear: honoring those lost in 9/11. I hope it does the job right._

When you're galaxies away from your own planet and peoples, it's normal to feel like the alien in a place that's so drastically different from your own. You tend to feel distant from a planet's inhabitants as they go about a life you'll never know or experience.

After years of being on Earth, Optimus Prime still couldn't help but feel he knew so little about Earth and the humans. He didn't understand why the children, Raphael and Jack, had asked to come to one of the largest cities in the country: New York City. Miko had seemed reluctant to join in and finally gave in with the promise of shopping in Times Square. Optimus didn't even know how he got dragged into the trip, but there he was, parked in the place where the younglings would meet him.

Bulkhead went off with Miko, searching for, what the girl had called, the "elusive Nintendo store." To his surprise, Jack and Raphael decided to stick together with Arcee, leaving Bumblebee to his own devices. Optimus couldn't help but think the three of them had something planned for the youngling, probably a small surprise involving racing with Raphael.

"_Hello sir."_ Bumblebee beeped softly, not wanting to attract too much attention. But it did help being in New York City, everything going on around them detracted from the randomly beeping muscle car.

"Hello Bumblebee, what brings you here?" Optimus asked the scout.

"_You know, Raf went off with Jack and Arcee, so I've been trying to cruise around the city. By the way, bad idea, I was stuck in traffic for Primus knows how long. So, I decided to come here." _Optimus sighed.

"Bumblebee, is there something on your processor?"

"_No, what would make you think that?"_ The scout responded a little too quickly to fully convince his leader.

"Bumblebee," Optimus warned, "I know when you're lying to me. Just remember, I'm here if you want to talk."

"_How do you do that? Never mind, yes, I've been thinking about something Raf told me yesterday. It's…kind of the reason why he didn't come with me today."_

"Did you get into a fight?"

"_No, no, not at all, we just decided that I needed some time alone."_

"Is there any particular reason as to why you two decided upon this?"

"_Yes, there is sir. It's…complicated."_

"Bumblebee, there is no need for formalities here. We are talking as friends, not by rank."

"_Ok…Optimus, _(the Prime couldn't help mentally chuckling at the scout's uncertainty) _Raf told me that something happened here ten human years ago. Fairly early in the morning, two commercial airplanes crashed into the World Trade Center, otherwise known as the 'Twin Towers.' Over two thousand humans died and so many human children lost their parents. It all happened in about two human hours, only a few meters away from where we are. You see those two lights? Those are a memorial for those who lost their lives."_

"I don't remember any reports on the incident."

"_Well…we weren't really here when it happened. At least we know it wasn't a Decepticon attack."_

"But humans attacking one another are just as horrendous as any Decepticon attack."

"_I guess so." _The silence hung for a beat before Optimus replied.

"Now I realize why you needed the time alone, away from the others. Would you like to talk about it?"

"…_I don't know yet. Today, I've just been trying to clear my processor, but at every turn I see something about 9/11 and then it's back."_

"What do you remember?"

"_I don't think I want to."_

"But can you?"

"…_Yes, a bit."_

"Very well, I won't push you for any more. Just remember Bumblebee, you are the last youngling, the only survivor of the Youth Sector attacks. You carry a terrible burden upon your shoulders, as do I. You can talk to me when you are ready, and if you are never ready, so be it. But remember the event for those who can't. There will come a time when I off-line, as well as the rest of the older generation of Autobots. Once we restore our race, there will be a generation gap and those younglings will lack the knowledge of the Great War. Hopefully, there will be no war during their time, but they will not remember the losses as we do. That is why you must remember Bumblebee; you need to teach our future of the mistakes we have made in the hope of never repeating them and allowing such horrors to befall upon this planet. You will be the last of this generation for if you allow those memories to be deleted, no one will remember for us. It is not an order from your leader, but a request from a friend." Silence once again descended upon the two Autobots. Both listened closely to the busy streets of New York, finding a small place in their processors to think. Finally, Bumblebee spoke.

"_Screaming."_

"Pardon?"

"_I don't remember much, but from what I do remember, it was…I don't really know how to describe it. I remember the screams, metal scraping against metal, fire, and darkness. I had no clue what was going on and I hid somewhere. The next thing I can recall is Ironhide picking me up and handing me over to you and Ratchet."_

"I know this is hard for you to talk about and I commend you for it. You were forced to mentally age faster than the rest of us because of this war, and I apologize for that."

"_Don't, it was never your fault."_

"Bumblebee, now that you are older and will understand the events that took place all those stellar cycles ago, do you want to know exactly what happened?" The yellow car shifted uncomfortably for a minute before replying.

"…_Yes, I would, but not here and not now. Right now, I'd like to give my support to Raf and Jack. From what I have heard about the Youth Sectors, the Decepticon attack was similar to the one here. I know the methods of which were different, but I mean, twin towers holding the sparklings were destroyed back on Cybertron. It's kind of…scary how similar these two planets are."_

"I guess you're right Bumblebee." Optimus said, for once, at a loss for words. Minutes early, he had been musing about how different the two planets were, but he was looking at it through a cultural and diplomatic view. Bumblebee always thought with emotions first, something vital and dangerous. The youngling had pointed out the bond between a people and its country, much like the Autobots and their cause. The humans even acted in a similar manner to them, despite being organic. While their planet wasn't divided into factions, it did seem to have some semblance of boundaries between varying ideas and beliefs. They even had their own upper being, something called "God."

The Prime spared a glance at his young counterpart. For someone so new to the universe, he had wisdom beyond his years.

"_Raf! Hey, what did you do today?" _Bumblebee beeped joyously at the return of his friend.

"Hey Bee, we went to some memorial stuff and walked around Times Square." the boy replied, walking towards the two vehicles with Jack and Arcee behind him.

"Jack, if you make me drive in _that _traffic again, I swear to Primus I'll make you walk to school for the next ten years." Arcee huffed.

"Um, I'm not in school for the next ten years. I go to college in two and then I should only be there for four more years." Jack replied.

"I can't believe we found it!" Miko shouted as she and Bulkhead pulled up to the others.

"I know, and it took forever to find it on the GPS. Does that store have a cloaking device on it or something?" Bulkhead asked her.

"Probably, but who knows?"

"So, are we ready to go back to base or what?" Arcee asked, ready to leave New York and its Pit-spawned traffic jams behind.

"Yeah, I think so." Raf replied. He then leaned over to Bumblebee and whispered, "Feeling any better?"

"_Yeah, I am. I also realized how scary similar Cybertron and Earth are to each other. It's a little unnerving actually."_

"Ratchet, bridge us back to base." Optimus comm.-linked the medic. Within a few seconds, a bright green portal opened in front of the Autobots. Jack, Arcee, Miko, and Bulkhead went through first. As Raf climbed inside Bumblebee, the scout beeped to Optimus.

"_I promise I'll come by and talk to you. Besides, I think I'm remembering more and it's starting to scare me."_

"Don't be scared Bumblebee, it was in the past and cannot harm you now. But you may be the key to a peaceful future once this war is finally over." The youngling drove through the Ground Bridge, leaving Optimus Prime to his thoughts.

When you make something your home, you usually know its history. Most of the Autobots definitely did not have a firm grasp of that. But on the day of 9/11, they had learned more than they ever thought possible. The humans had recently suffered as Cybertron did, losing a good portion of one generation. They felt sadness, grief, and anger towards those who afflicted the former unto them. They fought for what they believed in, what was right, and that was all anyone could ever ask for.

As Optimus drove through the Ground Bridge back to the base they called home, he couldn't help but think of the two planets as sisters, twins even.


End file.
